The weekly awards started on Sunday and kept coming yesterday for Ohio State senior backup quarterback Kenny Guiton.

In his first collegiate start on Saturday at California in place of the injured Braxton Miller, Guiton threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns, ran for 92 yards, led the Buckeyes to a 52-34 win and gained national attention. On Sunday, he was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation national player of the week. Yesterday, he was named the Big Ten offensive player of the week and was one of four honorable mention players for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose national player of the week, won by Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel.

“Man, that means a lot. I never saw that coming,” Guiton said of the recognition.

It wasn’t until about 90 minutes before game time at Cal when it became certain Guiton would be the starter, considering Miller was in shorts and a T-shirt. Guiton said he plans to prepare for Saturday’s game against prohibitive underdog Florida A&M in the same fastidious fashion, even if coach Urban Meyer labeled Miller as “probable” yesterday.

“I’ve always had a goal to start a game here; that goal was accomplished this past weekend,” Guiton said. “I never want anything bad to happen to anyone, to any of my teammates, for sure.

“But it was an opportunity, and I just wanted to take full advantage of it.”

Other awards

Ohio State junior linebacker Ryan Shazier was named the Big Ten defensive player of the week after his 12-tackle performance that included a sack and a forced fumble, as well as an ill-thought late hit out of bounds.

Interestingly, only two defensive players gained “champion” grades from the OSU staff, and Shazier wasn’t one of them. One was senior safety Christian Bryant, who played every snap on defense and had an interception. The other was freshman defensive end Joey Bosa, who not only gained his first collegiate start in place of injured Adolphus Washington, but was named the team’s defensive player of the week.

“His development was much faster than I think a lot of people thought it would be,” defensive line coach Mike Vrabel said of Bosa. “Certainly, he’s a much smarter football player as a freshman than I had ever envisioned.

“I think physically, we thought he could come in here and play, play at this level, play at Ohio State, play against the type of opponents that we are going to play against. But it was his mental approach and how quick he picked it up mentally that surprised me.”

Washington (groin strain) did not travel to Cal and is still questionable for a return this week.

A little respite

Those OSU players who saw extensive action at Cal were given the afternoon off from practice yesterday. It was a welcome respite, Bryant said.

“We traveled across the States to California; our coaches do a great job of taking care of us and taking care of our bodies because of the type of wear and tear we put on our bodies every week,” Bryant said. “For a guy who played over 100 snaps, it’s good for me to get a day off, get my body right, get in the cold tub, the hot tub, get a massage.

“I should feel great by (today) or Wednesday when we go out to practice.”